title: Medical audit of the quality of diabetes care: is primary care more successful than hospitals?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the quality of diabetes care provided to patients attending primary care settings and hospitals in the State of Qatar.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The survey was carried out in primary health care centers and hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted from January 2010 to August 2010 among diabetic patients attending primary health care centers and hospitals. Among the patients participating, 575 were from hospitals and 1103 from primary health care centers. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire including sociodemographic, clinical, and satisfaction score of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the primary care diabetic patients was 46.1 ± 15.1 years and 44.5 ± 14.8 years for hospital patients (P = .03). There was a significant difference observed in terms of age group, gender, marital status, occupation, and consanguinity of the diabetic patients in both medical settings (P < .001). Overweight was less prevalent in primary care patients than in hospital diabetes mellitus patients (40.4% vs 46.4%). A significant variation was observed in the mean values of blood glucose (-0.76), HbA1C (-0.78), LDL (-0.01), albumin (-0.37), bilirubin (-0.76), and triglyceride (-0.01) in primary care patients compared to the mean values of the preceding year. Overall, complications were lower in primary care diabetic patients, and patients attending primary care were more satisfied with the diabetes care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study revealed that in general, primary health care provided a better quality of care to diabetic patients compared to that of hospitals. Also, primary care patients had a better satisfaction score towards diabetes care.
authors.affiliation: Dept.of Medical Statistics & Epidemiology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Hamad General Hospital, Qatar.
authors.forename: Abdulbari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bener
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdulmalik
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Kazaz
authors.forename: Abdul-Ghani
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.forename: Rahima
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanya
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buhmaid
authors.forename: Munjid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Harthy
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zirie
keywords: community health; health outcomes; health promotion; lifestyle change; obesity; physical activity; prevention; primary care